Recent Sightings 3rd October 2022
With autumn well on its way, Castle Espie is looking bright and fresh in the October sunshine and showers. We’ve had some seriously impressive rainbows to show for it recently. Over the Estuary full of Light-bellied brent geese feeding on Eel grass in their family groups, a Buzzard has been seen skillfully riding the windy weather. A great place to watch this is from the Limekiln Observatory, safe from the chilly gusts!
Several Snipe (pictured) have also been seen in the Peninsular Field lately, lifting from the grass with their distinctive striped plumage and long sturdy bill. A Snipe is a small wader, making nests in scrapes on wet grassland, moorlands and marshes. They use their long beaks for probing around in the soft ground for invertebrates. It’s great to see them utilizing the wetland in the Peninsular Field as these stocky little birds have declined in the last few decades.
Estuary - visible from the Brent Hide and the Limekiln Observatory
Black-tailed godwit 2, Black-headed gull 7, Oystercatcher 15, Curlew 3, Eider 4, Grey heron 1, Hooded crow 2, Herring gull 2, Lesser black-backed gull 1, Little egret 4, Buzzard 1, Brent goose 1745
Main lake - visible from Sensory garden and Visitor Centre
Mallard 145, Black-headed gull 1, Mute swan 4, Gadwall 2, Moorhen 2, Widgeon 4, Little grebe 4, Tufted duck 4, Cormorant 1, Greylag goose 1, Teal 29, Shoveler 2
Shingle Bank - visible from Sensory garden and Visitor Centre
Mallard 15, Teal 3, Moorhen 1
Wadermarsh - visible from Wadermarsh lookout and Brent Hide
Teal 102, Mute swan 1, Moorhen 3
Freshwater Lagoon - visible from Brent Hide and Crannóg
Mute swan 2, Mallard 2, Coot 1, Moorhen 3, Teal 2, Hooded crow 1, Little grebe 1
Saline Lagoon - visible from Limekiln observatory
Little grebe 8, Little egret 2, Hooded crow 1, Kingfisher 1
Brickworks
Jackdaw 5
Limestone Lake
Little grebe 1
Peninsula Saltmarsh
Stonechat 1, Raven 2
Peninsula Field
Snipe 3
Woodland
Magpie, Woodpigeon, Starling, Great tit, Robin, Blackbird
